Healthy Mind Solutions

Home
Main Forum
Quit Smoking
Smoking Cessation and Weight-Gain
Don't do this but it worked for me

Advanced Search Form

Don't do this but it worked for me

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 11226

Hi Litsa,

Thanks for posting something that has worked for you. As a Health Educator I have to add, fad diets and fast weight loss is not recommended. You can lose 2 lbs a week but any more then that and it could be counter productive. Feeling overly hungry is not a good thing. Your body could go into starvation mode, you could feel faint, lose muscle tissue, etc. When it comes to weight loss, being consistent with healthy eating and exercise is essential. If you have health issues that prevent you from exercising you may want to talk to a doctor about low strain exercises that could help. If you are interested in more tips check out our sister site www.healthyweightcenter.net.

Very glad to hear this is working for you just be sure to listen to your body and don't over do it.

Ashley, Health Educator

Here to help :)

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 43

It is probably not advisable posting this after Matt's comment - please forgive me, Matt , but... I seem to have stumbled on something that helps with managing the BIG, GAPING hole that resides in the centre of my being since I stopped smoking. In the spirit if being truthful about what is helping me quit I am posting this with a disclaimer, so here goes.

I am probably a shallow person as one of my major concerns with quitting smoking is putting on weight, but that’s the way it is, you can frown all you want. I am also not a very health-conscious person as in the past, when I wanted to loose weight, all I had to do was smoke, drink coffee and viola! the weight would just fall off.

I have put on 2kgs (you’ll have to convert to pounds) in 2 months. That is a kilo a month and if I carry on like this, I will wake up in a year and will realize that I have gained… well you can do the arithmetic. On someone who is 1.59m tall (again – you will have to do the conversion) this does not look good. This was depressing me to no end and before you shout out "Exercise!" - I cannot exercise at the moment due to medical reasons so that is not an option.

As providence would have it, I work with a health-freak cyclist who is currently on a diet called “The Fat Burning Soup Diet” so I decided to try it too. As you probably have already guessed, this diet contains a LOT of soup. I have now completed day 2 and am 1.1kgs lighter (and happier) but the BIGGEST benefit of all and the reason I am sharing this with you is… I have been SO hungry that my whole focus has shifted from thinking about smoking to thinking about eating! I have had my best 2 smoke-free days thus far.

Don’t know what I will do next week as this is a 7-day detox diet but I will pigeon-hole that concern for another day..

In the meantime, I hope we all have a wonderful, smoke-free day today

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 218

Hey Hot Sio2(Jim),

Good call on bumping up this thread. We can all use some healthy diet reminders once and a while.

One main thing I can add, is that calories in = calories out is a great way to maintain your weight, and obviously, if you can burn more calories per day or week that you are taking in, you are on your way to weight loss.

Sounds simple enough, but can be tough with many of treats we love best and restaurant foods being packed with more calories than we may think.

Wishing you all good health. And Congrats Jim on your 5th bday of being smoke free.

Have a good weekend of good food and great fun.

Matthew - Health Educator

13 years ago 0 +0 / -0 2778

A bump forward for our new weigh conscious members!

It's been a while since this thread has been bumped and thought it might be helpful. I also thought it might provide an opportunity for everyone to provide their insight on their means of battling the bulge!

Additionally, I wanted to hear from Nonic about the success of this type of diet 2 years later on and to ask if the addition of sweet potatoes to the diet were incorporated or considered. I have been told that sweet potatoes are even better for us than the normal spuds.

Anyways, have a great smoke-free weekend, everyone! I think that I'll be enjoying some sweet taters and salmon for my birthday this weekend!

CLINK!!!

Jim

Quit Meter

$48,232.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1177 Hours: 14

Minutes: 40 Seconds: 21

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6431

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

192,930

Cigarettes Not Smoked

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

Kiwi:

Thanks for this...I like the boiled potato thing...For some reason I have been chowing down on legumes etc. but have not considered the benefit of spuds...I will become more of a devotee to that particular root...When you boil them do you add any spices or other enhancements? Sorry to ask such a basic question but the simplicity of it intrigues me...

I am with you on the tuna etc. and yes vegetables always...

stay well

nonic

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 12/25/2006
Smoke-Free Days: 1109
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 33,270
Amount Saved: $11,644.50
Life Gained:
Days: 217 Hrs: 0 Mins: 38 Seconds: 14

Quit Meter

$72,103.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1578 Hours: 18

Minutes: 22 Seconds: 25

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6867

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

206,010

Cigarettes Not Smoked

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 672

Hi Nonic,

I eat mostly wheetabix, Boiled potatoes (i eat 4-5 mid sized every night, probably too much but i luv my taties), brown rice, only Wholemeal bread, Pasta + i eat lots of smoked salmon & tuna.

Only lean cuts of meat ie, Chicken, pork, steak. Although animal fat is actually not that bad for you i usually chop off. Always lots of veggies thrown into the mix or brown rice on occasion.

Processed foods in moderation as all the nutrients been sucked out not to mention whatever additives, sugars & preservatives are thrown into the mix.

The funny thing is i actually exercise less since i stopped smoking. No more running around the block for me, just 10 mins of exercycle twice a week while watching telly + approx. 1hr / day brisk walk usually broken up to & from or at work (which i did before i quit anyhow).

The key is obviously a balance of exercise and diet, the diet bit being most crucial.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 1/1/2005
Smoke-Free Days: 1828
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 63,980
Amount Saved: $16,634.80
Life Gained:
Days: 265 Hrs: 0 Mins: 35 Seconds: 46

Quit Meter

$14,431.38

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 718 Hours: 22

Minutes: 50 Seconds: 1

Life Gained
Quit Meter

3943

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

59,145

Cigarettes Not Smoked

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

Brenda:

I agree, one cannot control everything, but there are bits and pieces that we can control and its good to know the difference. What I was trying to do in this case was to establish a base line. I had to see if eliminating cholesterol would effect the total. In my case I found that it had a profound effect. So now I know I can get my mits around this one and do something about it.

Hang in there you are doing amazing work here, and not only for yourself, I think you have helped a great many people move it on down the road a bit further...

stay well

nonic

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 12/25/2006
Smoke-Free Days: 1105
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 33,150
Amount Saved: $11,602.50
Life Gained:
Days: 216 Hrs: 7 Mins: 42 Seconds: 49

Quit Meter

$72,103.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1578 Hours: 18

Minutes: 22 Seconds: 25

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6867

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

206,010

Cigarettes Not Smoked

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1904

Yeah, nonic. I understand what you're saying. The vegan route just didn't work for my friend. I think your argument about meds is even germane to quitting smoking. I often tell people that the reason I take meds is because of the amount of effort it would take to "control" things without the meds. You were able to "control" things with your diet, but (I don't mean this just for you) if you had two or three things that needed controlling or if a substantial part of your cholesterol was inherited, then going the change of lifestyle route is much harder. We can spend all of our waking hours trying to control something. But we mustn't just be lazy. We do need to figure out when making some reasonable, or needed, changes have a good chance of working. Sometimes taking meds leads to taking more meds.

My Milage:

My Quit Date: 5/1/2009
Smoke-Free Days: 247
Cigarettes Not Smoked: 6,916
Amount Saved: $2,679.95
Life Gained:
Days: 27 Hrs: 19 Mins: 58 Seconds: 1

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

Kiwi

Thank you for the comments...You are right on the sugar...I did drop that as well, but am still pondering the complex carbs thing...What foods do you favor in that area? I am beginning to moderate things now and am back to weight lifting...I am finding that the high fiber in take helps a great deal with the keeping the digestive system working well...Also splitting wood is a great aerobic and muscle building activity...

stay well

nonic

Quit Meter

$72,103.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1578 Hours: 18

Minutes: 22 Seconds: 25

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6867

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

206,010

Cigarettes Not Smoked

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 880

Brenda

I know, you are so right on that...In fact that was the one thing that I wanted to determine for myself. When I found out how high the cholesterol was, I didn't know if my body produced to much or if in fact it was the food I ate that took me over the line. The only way that I could know for sure was by reducing my cholesterol to zero or as close as I could come to that. I just did not want to buy into the meds until I knew where I stood. Knowing that I can have a measure of control over this makes all the difference to me. If I knew that meds where the only solution, I would go that way. But I think we really need to always test our limits. This gets me in trouble some time though, because I can be a very stubborn man. I guess it is all about knowing your personal parameters...

I was lucky in this...Now I am moderating things a bit and adding a few more palatable sources of protein. I did get to a point at which I was lacking energy and feeling like I was walking through molasses. That is why I dropped the weight lifting in favor of more aerobic stuff...Now I want to see if I can build my body and maintain the cholesterol at the same time. This will require that I stick to the spirit of the rice and vegetable diet, but add a bit of poultry and fish...I do not think that I can operate solely on a diet of rice and vegetables for more than a year or so. I must admit I am a carnivore at heart...There where times that I had dreams of big old steaks and stuff like that...

stay well

nonic

Quit Meter

$72,103.50

Amount Saved
Quit Meter

Days: 1578 Hours: 18

Minutes: 22 Seconds: 25

Life Gained
Quit Meter

6867

Smoke Free Days
Quit Meter

206,010

Cigarettes Not Smoked

Reading this thread:

today's top discussions:

This Month’s Leaders:

Most Supportive

Most Active

Most Loved

Don't do this but it worked for me